Chapter Five
Whistling, Butch placed out the towels as Javier, Mistletoe, and Cruz watched him. He felt their gazes on him as if he was some kind of foreign object.
“You’re in a good mood,” Javier said.
“Of course he is. His wife took my advice,” Ned said, coming out of the office.
“You stay away from my wife. She’s all mine.”
“I miss seeing Cheryl around,” Javier said. “She always kept everyone in a good mood.”
“You shouldn’t start fights, and then she’d be able to come around a lot more.” Butch hummed as he picked up an empty bottle off the floor. The fighters weren’t due to arrive until after twelve, and the morning gym was given to the civilians who just wanted to work out. This was a front for Ned’s fighting business. All of the cops knew what he did, but he kept them in money to keep them out of his business.
“It’s impossible not to start a fight. Half of the guys here want to be hit,” Mistletoe said.
“So you got some last night. Got some pregnant pussy?” Cruz asked.
“You’re just nasty,” Javier said.
“What? You not heard how horny pregnant ladies are? They are begging for the cock, and if they want it, I’m more than willing to give it to them.”
Butch shook his head.
“I need you down at the hospital,” Ned said.
“Why?”
“Punk is trying to sign out, and he can’t leave yet.”
“Why not?” Butch asked.
“They need to keep him in for observation to make sure nothing gets worse. Will you do the honors and check on him?”
“Will do.” He hummed to himself as he left the gym.
He pulled his car keys out of his pocket. There were times like this that he missed his bike. When he first got to Vegas, he owned three different bikes, and each had been stolen. He was sure Ned had something to do with it, but rather than argue with the miserable old bastard, he decided to get a car.
Since then, his car hadn’t been stolen. He could probably get a bike now. He owned a house with a garage, but seeing as he was out of the house so often, he didn’t want to put Cheryl at risk.
He was a paranoid sort.
Still humming to himself, he opened the car door and stopped at his name being called.
Javier had followed him outside.
“Hold up,” Javier said.
“You want to go and pay Punk a visit?”
“Nah, I’m good. I wanted to talk to you.”
“What about?”
“You know what about. Have you given it some thought?” Javier asked.
Butch rubbed at his chin. “It’s not my call.”
“You’re not going home. You know that, I know it. Why can’t you just accept that it’s time to move on?”
“You’re asking me to throw my club away. I can’t do that.”
“Why are you still loyal to them?” Javier asked. “I get that you had to be punished, but when is enough enough?”
“Look, this is not your call. It’s not my call.”
“So you’re just going to head back to Fort Wills when they finally decide to get their heads out of their asses?”
“This is why you’ll never be good enough to join the MC. You need to learn to deal with the hierarchy of the club. I do as I’m told to do.”
“No, you’re sitting around rather than face reality. You’re as good as any Prez. I’ve met my fair share of them. I’m not some civilian here, Butch. You have what it takes to be a leader.”
“I’m not talking about this now.”
“You’ve thought about it though.”
He let out a breath and stared at his friend. Javier, Mistletoe, and Cruz had told him over the years that they would be willing to join any extension of an MC so long as he was Prez. When he told Cheryl about their idea, she thought it was a good one, and one he should have spoken to Lash about. He never brought it up, even though he’d wanted to. Lash was a good guy, and they’d talked plenty on the phone.
“Look, I think it’s a good idea, okay? Starting a brand-new MC is not what I want to do. The Skulls know their shit. I’m a brother there, and I’m not going to turn my back on them.”
“We’re not asking you to turn your back but to show them you can create a chapter right here. That’s what I’m suggesting. You got to stop acting like you’ve got to stay punished. You’ve done your time, paid your dues, and showed your loyalty. We’ve got your back, Butch. Just like you’ve had ours all these years.” Javier sighed. “See you around.”
He watched as Javier headed back into the gym.
Ned had brought up something similar a few months ago. Like always, Butch put off the topic of conversation.
Pulling out his cell phone, he stared at Lash’s number, and he was so tempted to dial.
Only he stopped himself, pocketed his cell, climbed behind the wheel, and headed back to the hospital.
The drive this time didn’t take him as long. When he arrived, he parked as far away from the door as possible and walked the short distance. He needed the time to clear his head.
He never liked hospitals. Nothing good ever came from being near them. As far as he was concerned, too many people died in them.
When he entered the hospital, no one stopped him as he made his way to Punk’s room. The nurse was on the way out as he entered.
“Are you family?” she asked.
“A friend.”
“Oh, well, we had an incident, and we had to call security.”
As she talked, Butch looked past her shoulder to see Punk was in fact cuffed to the bed.
“It’s fine. I won’t let him out.”
“We don’t want him causing any more trouble.”
“He won’t.”
He walked past the woman and sat down on the chair beside Punk’s bed.
Punk still hadn’t talked, and Butch wasn’t about to make the first move. The kid was full of aggression and rage.
“I don’t want you here,” Punk said.
“Ned sent me to talk some sense into you.”
“Sent you? You’re the reason I can’t help my mom. Why did you have to go and stick your nose where it don’t belong? My life doesn’t concern you.”
“True.”
“You’re an asshole.” Punk pulled on his arm, but it was useless.
“I’m sorry about your mom.”
Punk snorted. “What the fuck do you care? The money I was earning was to take care of her. To pay for her medical bills. Not mine. This is just fucking … you know what, I don’t fucking need this. I got to fight that Christmas fight. You’ve got to let me.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
“Why? What makes you boss? I thought the infamous Ned Walker made all the decisions.”
Butch smiled. There was a time he was exactly like this kid. Especially the young part and thinking he was invincible. It took a few smackdowns to learn the truth, that was for sure.
“What the fuck you smirking at? You think this is funny?”
“I’m not laughing at you.”
“I fucking hate you and everything you stand for.” Punk rattled his arm again, and Butch saw the fight drain right out of him.
“Are you done now? Do you think I can talk?”
“Sure, go ahead and talk. Doesn’t mean I’m going to listen.”
Butch listened to the silence that filled the room. The buzzing of the hospital staff outside the door. The calm.
“I hate hospitals.”
“Yeah, well, welcome to the fucking club.”
“You sure like the word fuck.”
“It’s my word, deal with it, fuckhead.”
Again, Butch smiled. He wondered if Michael was turning out this way for Alex.
Damn, he missed that kid.
Making the decision for him to head back to Fort Wills had been hard. Between work and Cheryl, and Michael’s sucky attitude, he didn’t have a choice.
Yeah, Michael had been a pain in the ass.
Who wasn’t at that age?
Still, being around Punk reminded him of that.
“You can’t fight because you’ll die and then what will your mom do?” Butch asked.
“I’m not going to die. I’m stronger than I look.”
“You know, I’ve met men stronger than you. They’ve been prepared, knew the risks, and yet they still fucking died. You think this is a game. A fight and if you get knocked out, that’s it. You’ve got to put on a show, a performance, and there’s a good chance someone will die. It’s the way it is. Ned Walker does fights where the odds are all over the place. I get that you think you’re ready, but look at what you did now. You’re in the hospital, and you’re not getting out for some time. You’re not ready. You think I want to put men in that ring for them to die? Let me tell you something, I’ve been around death a hell of a long time. I’ve watched good men and women die. It’s the way of the world, but each time someone close to you goes, it fucks with your head. You lose a part of yourself. Your mother, you’re all she has left. You die in that ring, you’re signing her death sentence.”
Punk’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “It’s what I’ve got to do,” Punk said.
“No, it’s not. You can find the money another way. Constantly pay every single month. You don’t need to kill yourself to fix your mom, because here’s another thing—if you die for this, your mother isn’t going to want the money.”
Butch sat back in his chair, allowing that piece of information to sink in.
He knew it did because Punk stopped fighting with the damn cuffs.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
“She’s all I’ve got,” Punk said. “I know it’s not cool, but she’s my mom and I’ll do anything for her.”
“I’ve not told you to not do anything for her. I’ve told you to think about her and what your idea of paying her fees will do to her. You’re not being selfish.”
The tears finally started to fall then, and as he fell apart, sobbing, Butch moved to the bed, grabbed the kid’s hand, and offered him some support.
“I don’t want her to die.”
“I know.”
“I can’t do this without her. I don’t have anything to offer. Fighting is all I know. I don’t…”
“Don’t think right now. Just focus and you’ll come up with something.” He stayed there for the rest of the day, giving the kid some company, and he hoped by the time he left, that he’d gotten through to him.
Death was hard.
Ned Walker had lost a lot of men in his fighting rings. Butch had seen the effects it had on the older man. He tried to hide it, but it was there. The pain of the loss was a part of him.
Ned didn’t breed losers.
It’s why he worked so damn hard to get the fighters strong.
Death wasn’t going to get a helping hand from either of them.
****
One week later
Cheryl stared up at the café she’d been asked to visit. Putting a hand on her stomach, she thought about the morning she’d spent with Butch before he headed to the hospital. Punk was due to be released in another week. The beating he’d taken was pretty serious, and there had been some fear of internal bleeding.
Poor kid.
Fortunately, he seemed to be making a full recovery, and she was a day closer to her due date, and that was a good thing. Her baby also liked to make her or his presence known with the constant kicking, but she wasn’t going to complain about that. She loved feeling this baby inside her, and since talking with Butch, life felt … good. Less complicated, at least.
She knew there was still a lot of work to be done for her and for Butch, but in time they could work on that.
She wasn’t going to give up on them or this relationship. Keep moving forward, that was her motto right now.
Pushing some hair behind her ear, she released a breath and decided to just head on inside.
Opening the door, she saw it was busy, and scanning the crowd, she found Alex pretty damn easily. He sat in a private booth facing the door.
He’d told her where he’d be.
She saw no one else was with him. Sunshine, his wife, she adored.
Walking past the tables, she took her time, careful as she walked. The doctor had told her that any serious fall, and she’d need to go to the hospital right away. With every single passing day, Butch had been firm in his decision to only hire the best doctors.
Taking a seat in the booth, she removed her jacket and offered Alex a smile.
There was a time she’d hated this man sitting across from her.
He was a manipulative bastard, but of course she was biased, seeing as he’d left her with a kid, and not even his name.
“Hey, Alex,” she said.
“How are you doing, Cheryl?” he asked.
“I’m doing good.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and waited.
He signaled to the waitress and made sure to order her favorite. It wasn’t coffee, she couldn’t have that, but the blend of tea was her favorite.
“You remembered.”
“I remember a lot of things. Being a businessman, it helps me to remember.”
“Yes, who could forget? How is business and Sunshine?”
“The hotel is doing wonderfully, as always. The casino as well. Between Sunshine and my kids, life is good. Sunshine is everything to me. I’ve left her back home. She didn’t need to come on this trip, and Vegas doesn’t really suit her.”
“How is Michael?”
“I brought him along for the trip. He’s stopped by Ned’s first. I hope that’s okay.”
“Oh, does he even want to see me?” She nibbled her lip.
Before Michael had left to go and be with his father, they’d argued. He’d accused her of loving the new unborn baby more than him, and of course a lot of other accusations had flown around. They’d hurt, no doubt about it.
Putting a hand to her stomach, she waited.
“He misses you, Cheryl. Don’t doubt that for a second.”
“I don’t doubt it. I just … I don’t want him to think it was an easy decision for me to make.”
“How is the pregnancy?”
“It’s doing good. I think. I hope. I mean…” She put a hand to her stomach. “Yeah, we’re still going strong.”
“You look amazing.”
“I do?”
“Yes, really healthy, and you’re smiling as well. The stress the last time I saw you was clearly getting to you. It’s good to see you’re doing well, and if I can say it, it’s a good look on you.”
“Thanks.”
“How are things with Butch?”
“We’re doing good, I think, for the most part. It has been stressful with this, and I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about my relationship with another man, or that we’re even being able to have this conversation right now. It’s kind of surreal.”
“That’s true.” Alex chuckled. “You know, I never really hated you.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“That was a … trying time, don’t you think? The stress. The expectation. It was all the pressure, built up in one, and I didn’t handle it very well,” Alex said.
“Neither of us did. We had the loves of our lives, and it all went to shit.” She stared down at her hands. “We can’t keep living in the past though.”
She stopped as the waitress brought her tea and her favorite muffin. Saying her thanks, she stared down at the offering and felt overwhelmed with emotion.
“You’re going to cry, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just really emotional. Everything seems to be piling on me all of a sudden.”
“Is that why you wanted to see me?” Alex asked. “I was shocked by your call.”
She’d reached out to Alex. They’d not had the best relationship out of all of The Skulls, but they had the one connection neither of them could deny: their son, Michael.
“I wanted to talk to you about Butch, about The Skulls, about a lot of things.”
“Michael has told me before we came over here that he doesn’t want to stay,” Alex said. “I’m not saying this to be a bastard, but I’m letting you know.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she smiled. She still saw a lot of Michael, and they did talk regularly.
“He wants to be with his dad, and I can’t blame him for that.” She released a breath. “I’m not upset or angry.”
“He doesn’t want to upset you. That’s why he asked me to double-check that you’re okay with him staying with me.”
“Of course. I know he’s in really good hands with you.”
Alex nodded. “I will protect him always. I love him. You and I, we don’t always see eye to eye, but I think the one good thing we ever did was make that kid.”
“Then we can agree on something.” She released a breath. “I think this is a world record for us. Look at how we’re talking and there’s no flames. We must be growing up.”
He laughed. “It had to happen eventually.”
She knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. “Butch.”
“What about him?”
“Do you know if Lash is going to call him back to Fort Wills?”
Alex stared at her. “I don’t make those decisions anymore. I helped Tiny out, but that is all on Lash, and I have to say, the kid knows what he’s doing.”
“You don’t know at all?”
“Do you want to come back home?”
She felt a twinge in her chest. Fort Wills wasn’t home.
Even though settling down here with Ned Walker for company had been hard to do, she’d gotten used to it. This was home now, and part of her was afraid that Butch wanted to go back to Fort Wills.
She didn’t know if he’d be able to handle that life though.
The life of being a Skull.
In the years they’d been together, so much had happened between them. She’d seen the leader inside him flourish, especially with Ned for company. There was no way a leader could deny his place with that man there. He brought out the best in people. She’d seen it. Not many people liked him, or at least, the men he pissed off didn’t like him.
He was a good man.
He hid it well.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know the answers you want, Cheryl. Honestly, I’m a Skull, but I don’t play as a big a part in that life anymore.” He reached across the table and took her hands. “If you want me to talk to Lash, I will.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course.”
She squeezed his hands. “I don’t think I want to go back to Fort Wills. I think our life is here.”
“Okay.”
“But I don’t think Butch being a Skull in the capacity he is, is enough anymore.”
“You think he wants more.”
“I think he deserves it.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Everything is so confusing right now, and I know I’m not making any sense.”
“I’ve got some advice though. You want to hear it?”
“Please.”
“Talk to your husband. It’s a great deciding factor when you want to get a job done.”
She couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. “Wow, I can’t believe we’re doing this. Talking, having a conversation. It’s really crazy.”
“Second time, I know.” He was laughing though. “We’ve come a long way.”
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said.
Climbing out of the stall, she took a step and felt wetness on her feet.
Glancing down, she saw it looked like she’d wet herself, only she knew that wasn’t the case.
“Holy shit, is that, has your water broken?”
“Yes, I need to go to the hospital.”
Staff were already rushing to her, and as she gripped her stomach, a contraction hit her hard.
“It’s too soon. It’s way too soon. Shouldn’t we be forty weeks? It’s too soon.”
“Come on. I’ll get you to the hospital, and then get Butch.”